Telemetry Solutions sells direct to our end users. While distributors work well for some business models we find that selling direct fits our business model best. We will, however, offer you a referral fee if you bring a customer to us.

Sometimes. It depends on how far along your order is in the production process and it also depends on the change you would like made. If you must make a change and it requires us to undo the work that has already been done we will need to charge you for the added labor involved in making the change. But if you catch us in time, before your order is too far along, we are happy to oblige.

You are always going to be the one to indicate the VHF frequency in your GPS collar or GPS backpack. You can either choose VHF frequencies from a list of frequencies that we have in stock or specify a frequency that is not in stock.

Of course. From the user software data page choose the data set that you wish to map. Then either export as a .kml file or choose the coordinate format you would like to use and export the file. Then import it into your GIS program.

Yes we can set up your GPS devices for you. However, if we do this you will miss out on many features that will never make sense to you if you don’t set up your own GPS devices. We suggest that you assign one person from your team and that person is always in charge of your GPS devices. There is so much to know and understand that we find it works best when everything goes through one team member.

Yes, of course. The time stamp associated with each position will not recognize the change though. The time stamps reflect one of the following, your local standard time, your local daylight savings time or Greenwich Mean Time. You set this up before you deploy so you will always know that those time stamps refer to.

The accuracy of a GPS position depends upon many factors. Terrain, GPS antenna size, weather, position of satellites above the horizon, whether the GPS attempt is a cold start, warm start or hot start and the GPS additional time setting. To maximize accuracy set GPS additional time appropriately.

GPS additional time is a Telemetry Solutions exclusive feature that, to some degree, allows you to control GPS position accuracy. GPS additional time forces the GPS to remain on and refine the GPS position rather than just saving a quickly acquired GPS position. The result is vastly improved GPS position precision.

For birds, up to 2% of the body weight. For mammals, the generally accepted limit is 5% but in our opinion, this is an old fashioned concept supported by biased research. Old fashioned in the sense that 40 years ago even the most basic tracking products were much heavier than products of today. Using modern tracking equipment there is no reason that you should need to approach 5% of body weight.

Take a look at our list of species for which we have built GPS products. The first step is to find a similar species. Then get in touch with us and we will explain what we have to offer. We are always happy to guide you through the options.

No matter where in the world you are, our sales process is designed to find out what your needs are, describe your options and then implement them.

The first step is to tell us what your study species is and the maximum weight that it can tolerate. From there we will give you choices. After this we will refine the product choice to fit your needs as closely as possible. At this point, we will provide a formal quotation for you. Then if you would like to you can place your order.

They turn on at user specified times and obtain a GPS position. The position is stored in the memory to be downloaded remotely later. Depending upon the weight of the device and the options that you chose your GPS will transmit data either automatically to a base station in the field or on a UAV (drone). Alternatively the GPS data will be transmitted via satellite to your email.

Like the short range download, the long range download is fully automatic. The GPS device and the base station are always looking for each other. When they find each other the previously un-transmitted data will be copied to the base station. The fully automatic nature of the base station combined with the long range download makes this a prime candidate for use with a UAV (drone). The base station only weighs about 100 grams.

We use the Iridium system for our satellite data download. This system enables you to view your data online without having to physically be near the animal. Prior to deploying the collar you program the interval of Iridium data transfer. Although pre-programmed before deployment you can change this interval at any time from our user interface on the internet.

Starting in 2017 the times for the data download attempts can be set at unique times of day and not just at some interval.

Whenever the base station and the GPS tracking device are within range of each other GPS data from the tracking device will be copied to the base station. Then you just plug the base station into your PC and download the GPS data to the user software. From there you can map it automatically to Google Earth or export it to a GIS program.

The base station is waterproof and has a 5 day battery life before the battery needs to be recharged. The base station will download data from multiple GPS devices. Likewise, the GPS devices can download data to multiple base stations. Only previously un-transmitted GPS data are transferred during a data download to a base station. 20 positions per second can be transmitted by the GPS and received by the base station.

The answer is different for different products. The short range download works at up to 40 meters. The long range download can work at over 1 kilometer. The Iridium download has no restriction, the download is global.

But each system has limitations. The first two require a line of sight between the antenna on the GPS device and the base station. The Iridium device requires access to the Iridium network. There are many factors that affect the line of sight as well as the Iridium network acquisition. We are happy to discuss these in detail at your convenience.

It depends upon which battery you have, the mean temperature over the course of your deployment, the interval between GPS position attempts, how many GPS positions are scheduled, the length of time needed to acquire each position and the GPS additional time. Our User Software will estimate battery life based upon all of these factors.

The VHF battery life varies greatly depending upon how much weight we give up to the VHF battery. It is typical that we discuss your battery life needs in the front end so that the VHF battery will outlast the GPS battery. In other words, we tend to build the VHF so that it will still be sending a signal even after the GPS battery has died.

The easy answer is that you should test them exactly like they will be used. That means putting them into the environment that you intend to deploy them in. Look at the time to fix and evaluate what GPS additional time should be used to obtain the precision that you need. To maximize the efficiency of your tests read the user manual and watch the tutorial videos on our YouTube page. After that, if you need help, let us know and we will help you.

VHF frequencies are sometimes approximately .002 MHz off from the stated frequency. For example, if your label indicates a VHF of 153.500, the best signal may be heard somewhere between 153.498 and 153.502 MHz. Tune up and down until you receive the strongest signal.

Prior to 2017 some of our GPS products required you to seal the USB port after setting up the product. As of 2017 only those products equipped with a rechargeable battery will need you to seal the USB port, the rest will be sealed at the factory.

The reason is that the driver is not installed. Right click on the unknown device and select update driver. They are in the Collar SW folder. However GPS products made beginning 2017 will not need a USB connection to your PC, you will communicate with them by wireless.

Before deploying, customers should remote connect in the office using the computer they will be using in the field for two reasons. First, this ensures that the GPS units and base station can connect. If they do not connect, we need to figure out why while the units are still in hand, not once they are deployed! The second is the fact that the addresses of the GPS units will be stored in the Collar SW software once a successful connection is made and you will not have to type all of them in again unless they are deleted. The addresses will appear in the box at the top of the screen in Collar SW when a base station is connected via USB. To accomplish this, you must use the computer that you will be using in the field as the addresses will be saved in the software on that individual computer, not the base station itself.

This is not required. However, it may help the units to start working more quickly once you are ready to deploy. Batteries build up oxidization internally while not being used. If the oxidization builds up enough from non-activity, the battery may appear to not work for a short period of time when you do attempt to use your device(s). If you choose to power them on periodically while the devices are being stored, you could simply set up a short test one day every couple of months. Doing this burns off the oxidization that builds up over time.

You should not count on getting data sets that are 100% complete since you are dealing with wildlife but there are many things you can do to increase the data sets. Read the User Manual and test the units in your study area prior to deployment.

In many cases when a GPS position is not acquired it is due to the study animal being in a place without access to a GPS satellite signal. If this is because the animal is resting in a place where the signal cannot penetrate, Smart GPS will solve the problem. Smart GPS constantly evaluates the animals level of activity and when that does not meet a threshold that indicates that the animal is awake and moving around, Smart GPS will force the GPS to skip the next location attempt. This saves the battery life that would otherwise have been wasted on a missed location attempt. The Smart GPS is fully user-programmable.

A transmitter transmits a signal. Normally, in wildlife telemetry, this is used to refer to a VHF tracking beacon. GPS receives radio signals from satellites in orbit around the earth. People commonly say transmitter when referring to GPS but that is incorrect.

Our advanced activity sensor measures acceleration and movement. Each line of data represents a period of time when motion data was recorded. From that line of data you can see what the most powerful movement was, if it was a sudden movement or a constant movements, and the number of recorded movement during that period.

You will have a date and time stamp, the length of time used to calculate a GPS position, the number of satellites used to calculate the position, ambient temperature at the time of the location, battery voltage and signal quality information.

Only in template mode does the software take the activity into consideration when showing the estimated battery life calculations. If using repeat mode, the software does not take it into consideration.Only in template mode does the software take the activity into consideration when showing the estimated battery life calculations. If using repeat mode, the software does not take it into consideration.

This error is caused by certain computers having a resolution discrepancy with the software. This is a rare problem which may be solved by downloading a new version of Collar SW software and uninstalling the version you are currently working with. You can find the new software on our Software and Manuals tab on our website.

This error happens because the software is looking for the data folder in more than one place when it should only be located in one. To fix this, go to C:Program Files(x86)Collar SW and find the Data folder. Highlight the contents inside this folder and select Cut. Go to C:Users and select whatever profile it is you typically use. In this file there should be a folder called Collar. In it, there should be another Data folder. Paste the contents from the other Data folder into this one. Now go back to C:Program Files(x86)Collar SW and delete the Data folder inside of this folder. Now the software should be able to open correctly.

The base station is a piece of hardware that allows for remote communication with the GPS tracking device. It is a transceiver on the same frequency as the transceiver in the unit on the animal. A transceiver both transmits and receives radio signals. Using this device you can download GPS data from the collar and you can change the positioning schedule (assuming that you requested this option).

GSM or CDMA modems require a significant amount of energy to operate, Telemetry Solutions specializes in applications for small animals and there usually isn’t enough battery to devote to that modem. In addition, in much of North America, there isn’t very good cell coverage in wilderness areas.

No, there will always be a delay between the time a GPS position is logged into memory and when that position is transmitted to the user. There are three ways to receive your data: UHF Manual Download, Automatic Download, and Satellite Download. None of these options will provide you a constant stream of GPS data. The Iridium feature will send blocks of data at a scheduled interval, but not individual lines of data as they are acquired.